Vertebral subluxation


In chiropractic, a vertebral subluxation means pressure on nerves, abnormal functions creating a lesion in some portion of the body, either in its action, or makeup, not necessarily visible on X-rays.
Straight chiropractors continue to follow Palmer's tradition, claiming that vertebral subluxation has considerable health effects and also adding a visceral component to the definition.
The use of the word vertebral subluxation should not be confused with the term's precise usage in medicine, which considers only the anatomical relationships."
According to the World Health Organization, a subluxation is a "significant structural displacement" and is therefore always visible on static imaging studies, such as X-rays. This is in direct contrast to the belief of "vertebral subluxation" as established in chiropractic, a field of alternative treatment outside scientific mainstream medicine, whose practitioners are not medical doctors.
The exact definition of subluxation in the medical field depends on the anatomical part being involved.

History

In 1910, D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, wrote:
In 1909, D.D. Palmer's son, B.J. Palmer wrote that:

Clinical practice

Definitions

Chiropractors use and have used various terms to express this concept: subluxation, vertebral subluxation, vertebral subluxation complex, "killer subluxations," and the "silent killer."
Chiropractors along with some physical therapists and osteopathic physicians, have also used another term, BOOP, meaning "bone out of place."
The WHO definition of the chiropractic vertebral subluxation is:
The purported displacement is not necessarily visible on static imaging studies, such as X-rays. This is in contrast to the medical definition of spinal subluxation which, according to the WHO, is a "significant structural displacement", and therefore visible on X-rays.
As of 2014, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners states:
In 1996 an official consensus definition of subluxation was formed. Cooperstein and Gleberzon have described the situation: "... although many in the chiropractic profession reject the concept of "subluxation" and shun the use of this term as a diagnosis, the presidents of at least a dozen chiropractic colleges of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges developed a consensus definition of "subluxation" in 1996. It reads:
In 2001 the World Federation of Chiropractic, representing the national chiropractic associations in 77 countries, adopted this consensus statement which reaffirms belief in the vertebral subluxation.
The ACC paradigm has been criticized by chiropractic authors:
In May 2010 the General Chiropractic Council, the statutory regulatory body for chiropractors in the United Kingdom, issued guidance for chiropractors stating that the chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex "is an historical concept" and "is not supported by any clinical research evidence that would allow claims to be made that it is the cause of disease or health concerns."
The chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex has been a source of controversy since its inception in 1895 due to the lack of empirical evidence for its existence, its metaphysical origins, and claims of its far reaching effects on health and disease. Although some chiropractic associations and colleges support the concept of subluxation, many in the chiropractic profession reject it and shun the use of this term as a diagnosis. In the United States and in Canada the term nonallopathic lesion may be used in place of subluxation.
Other chiropractors consider subluxation as a more of an abstract concept rather than a medical condition. Tedd Koren, says,

International Classification of Diseases coding

The differences between a medical subluxation and a chiropractic "vertebral subluxation" create confusion and difficulties when it comes to following official ICD-9 and ICD-10 coding. In a 2014 article in Dynamic Chiropractic by a chiropractor who is a certified professional coder, these difficulties were discussed in detail. He noted that the WHO recognizes the differences between the two types of "subluxations", and also pointed out certain difficulties for chiropractors:
At the time of writing it was still uncertain which codes in the newer ICD-10 would be useful for chiropractors and how they would be interpreted.

Components

Traditionally there have been 5 components that form the chiropractic subluxation.
  1. Spinal Kinesiopathology
  2. Neuropathophysiology/Neuropathology
  3. Myopathology
  4. Histopathology
  5. Biochemical changes

    Diagnosis

Historically, the detection of spinal misalignment by the chiropractic profession has relied on X-ray findings and physical examination. At least 2 of the following 4 physical signs and/or symptoms must be documented to qualify for reimbursement:
It has been proposed that a vertebral subluxation can negatively affect general health by altering the neurological communication between the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. Although individuals may not always be symptomatic, straight chiropractors believe that the presence of vertebral subluxation is in itself justification for correction via spinal adjustment.
V. Strang, D.C., describes several hypotheses on how a misaligned vertebra may cause interference to the nervous system in his book, Essential Principles of Chiropractic:
The vertebral subluxation has been described as a syndrome with signs and symptoms which include: altered alignment; aberrant motion; palpable soft tissue changes; localized/referred pain; muscle contraction or imbalance; altered physiological function; reversible with adjustment/manipulation; focal tenderness.

Procedure

Chiropractic treatment of vertebral subluxation focuses on delivering a chiropractic adjustment which is a high velocity low amplitude thrust to the dysfunctional spinal segments to help correct the chiropractic subluxation complex. Spinal adjustment is the primary procedure used by chiropractors in the adjustment.

Disagreement amongst practitioners

The chiropractic subluxation is the heart of the split between "straight" and "mixer" chiropractors. Straight chiropractors continue to follow Palmer's vitalistic tradition, claiming that subluxation has considerable health effects and also adding a visceral component to the definition, while mixers, as exemplified by the United Kingdom's General Chiropractic Council, consider it a historical concept with no evidence identifying it as the cause of disease.
Some chiropractors have described the disagreements within the profession about the concept, and have written skeptically about BOOP as an antiquated idea. In 1992 one wrote:
One wrote in 1994 about the "brutal civil war":
Ten years later he openly disparaged the idea still propounded by "modern-day advocates of this concept":

Evidence of condition

Believers within the chiropractic tradition assert that spinal health and function are directly related to general health and well-being, including visceral disorders, but the efficacy and validity of spinal manipulation to address visceral disorders systems remains a source of controversy within the chiropractic profession. Although research is ongoing on this topic, conclusions that support the usefulness of spinal manipulation for organic disorders remains to be seen. Additionally, to complicate matters, chiropractic professors and researchers, Nansel and Szlazak, found that:
the proper differential diagnosis of somatic vs. visceral dysfunction represents a challenge for both the medical and chiropractic physician. The afferent convergence mechanisms, which can create signs and symptoms that are virtually indistinguishable with respect to their somatic vs. visceral etiologies, suggest it is not unreasonable that this somatic visceral-disease mimicry could very well account for the "cures" of presumed organ disease that have been observed over the years in response to various somatic therapies and may represent a common phenomenon that has led to "holistic" health care claims on the part of such clinical disciplines.

Considering this phenomenon, Seaman suggests that the chiropractic concept of joint complex dysfunction should be incorporated into the differential diagnosis of pain and visceral symptoms because these dysfunctions often generate symptoms similar to those produced by true visceral disease and notes that this mimicry leads to unnecessary surgical procedures and medications.
Other chiropractic researchers have also questioned some of the claimed effects of vertebral subluxation:
The literature supports the existence of somatovisceral and viscerosomatic reflexes, but there is little or no evidence to support the notion that the spinal derangements can cause prolonged aberrant discharge of these reflexes. Equally unsupported in the literature is the notion that the prolonged activation of these reflexes will manifest into pathological state of tissues, and most relevantly, that the application of spinal manipulative therapy can alter the prolonged reflex discharge or be associated with a reversal of the pathological degeneration of the affected reflexes or tissues. The evidence that has been amassed is largely anecdotal or case report based and it has attracted much intra disciplinary debate because of its frequent association with certain approaches to management.

Still other chiropractic researchers stated quite directly:
... early chiropractic philosophy... considered disease the result of spinal nerve dysfunction caused by misplaced vertebrae. Although rejected by medical science, this concept is still accepted by a minority of chiropractors.... Indeed, many progressive chiropractors have rejected the historical concept of the chiropractic subluxation in favor of ones that more accurately describe the nature of the complex joint disfunctions they treat."

Professor Philip S. Bolton of the School of Biomedical Sciences at University of Newcastle, Australia writes in Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, "The traditional chiropractic vertebral subluxation hypothesis proposes that vertebral misalignment cause illness, disease, or both. This hypothesis remains controversial." His objective was, "To briefly review and update experimental evidence concerning reflex effects of vertebral subluxations, particularly concerning peripheral nervous system responses to vertebral subluxations. Data source: Information was obtained from chiropractic or, scientific peer-reviewed literature concerning human or animal studies of neural responses to vertebral subluxation, vertebral displacement or movement, or both." He concluded, "Animal models suggest that vertebral displacements and putative vertebral subluxations may modulate activity in group I to IV afferent nerves. However, it is not clear whether these afferent nerves are modulated during normal day-to-day activities of living and, if so, what segmental or whole-body reflex effects they may have."
Edzard Ernst has stated that the "core concepts of chiropractic, subluxation and spinal manipulation, are not based on sound science."
An area of debate among chiropractors is whether "vertebral subluxation" is a metaphysical concept or a real phenomenon. In an article on vertebral subluxation, the chiropractic authors wrote:
Other chiropractors have declared its unproven status as an area that needs reform:
A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center article describes the mainstream understanding of vertebral subluxation theory:
In 2009, four scholarly chiropractors concluded that epidemiologic evidence does not support chiropractic's most fundamental theory. Since its inception, the vast majority of chiropractors have postulated that "subluxations" are the cause or underlying cause of ill health and can be corrected with spinal "adjustments." After searching the scientific literature, the chiropractic authors concluded:
In 2005, four leading chiropractic researchers leveled strong critiques of chiropractic dogma:
In 2015, internationally accredited chiropractic colleges from Bournemouth University, University of South Wales, University of Southern Denmark, University of Zürich, Institut Franco-Européen de Chiropraxie, and University of Johannesburg made an open statement which included: "The teaching of the vertebral subluxation complex as a vitalistic construct that claims that it is the cause of disease is unsupported by evidence. Its inclusion in a modern chiropractic curriculum in anything other than an historic context is therefore inappropriate and unnecessary."